Retail Spending Grows by 5.4% in H1 2018. Where Are Americans Spending More?

Retail and food service sales grew by 5.35% year-over-year during the first half of 2018, according to unadjusted figures released by the US Department of Commerce. While Americans pulled back their spending at office supplies and stationery stores (-6.7%) and at sporting goods stores (-3%), they appear to be spending more at several types of retailers.

One thing seems for sure: Americans are spending at the pump. During the first half of the year, spending at fuel dealers soared by 27.1%, the biggest jump of any retail store type.

Next up on the list were gasoline stations, with a 13.6% spending hike during H1. When factoring out gasoline stations from the equation, retail sales growth was a slightly more modest 4.6%.

Beyond the pump, it’s been a strong year so far for jewelry stores, which have enjoyed a 13% bump in spending over last year. Hardware stores are also benefiting from spending largesse, as consumers spent 12.5% more at these stores during the January-June period this year than last.

It may be hard to believe, but these store types actually experienced faster growth than e-commerce as a whole! Non-store retailers averaged a 9.8% increase, while electronic shopping and mail-order houses have experienced a 9.7% increase in spending.

Interestingly enough, while apparel shopping is moving online, men’s shopping stores turned in one of the best performances. The 9.4% increase in spending at these stores is almost double the growth in spending at family clothing stores (4.9%), and more than 4 times the spending growth at women’s clothing stores (2%).